Thunder & Lightning
by iTumnusXinXNarnia
Summary: Elena Kishinuma-Allen befriends the tall, feminine Makoto Kino, and Elena's world begins to crackle with an electric current she didn't even know existed.


**A/N: I... am not a hundred percent sure about this. I like the idea and I'm keen to write this, but I know my friends would make fun of me so much if they knew I was writing this. Oh well... I'm keen to write so I will. Please enjoy! Leave constructive criticism if you can :)**

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Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if several things hadn't of happened. Like what would have happened if my mother had never married Yoritaka Kishinuma, a Japanese businessman she had met in one of her conferences. I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't moved to Chita, Japan. The Aichi prefecture was where Yoritaka was born, but we had only been there for two years when one of my worst fears became realised.

When that happened, Yoritaka tried his best to make everything better. He moved us to Tokyo, where he hoped it would help, and again I was uprooted from my life and moved to an unfamiliar place. Compared to Chita, Tokyo was huge, and rather easy to get lost in. Due to Yoritaka's rather extensive wealth from his family and job, we were able to afford a rather nice, partially Western-style house so it would suit my mother's needs. She…

No one changed more in that time that my mother did. She loved Yoritaka and I with all her heart, but it was failing. Her heart, I mean. My kind, sweet, hard-working mother had been struck down with an illness that doctors couldn't quite figure out, and they recommended that my mother rest constantly and live near the hospital in case something went wrong.

And I was sent to Juuban Middle School, quite a distance away from where I lived. Yoritaka tried to organise a driver for me, but I told him the walking would be good. It also allowed me to stay out of the house for as long as possible. It was hard being around my mother, and seeing her weak face before she realised I was there… it was threatening to make me crumble. I desperately wanted to help, but I didn't know what I could do. I was only fourteen-years-old, trying to figure out what I wanted to do.

My first week at Juuban was uneventful. I kept to myself, afraid to make friends or even look anyone in the eye. I felt almost out of place; my lunch was half what I used to eat back in Australia and half a bento, provided by Yoritaka, who proved to be quite the chef. My own father had died when I was quite young, so I barely remember him, but Yoritaka filled that role perfectly, teaching me Japanese and ensuring I got a good education and home.

But enough about all of that.

Juuban was full of students, more students that any school I had been too before. I thought I would stand out, with my Western features and dyed purple hair, but I saw a girl walking around with long blonde hair, and even a girl with blue hair, so I was alright. Most students just left me alone, but some were kind, directing me the right way.

At this point, I was still learning Japanese, and didn't know a few words here and there that they said in the classes, but I excelled in my English class. Japanese history was by far the hardest, but I got through it alright. I wasn't a straight A student, but I did alright.

I had been at school for an entire week. It was still weird, but I was enjoying it thus far. And on the seventh day of school was when I met him. Ritsu Kobayashi. I had seen him around a little, a short boy with black hair cut short, laughing and making jokes with his friends.

I abruptly met him when I was at my desk, and the next thing I knew the desk was flipping over. There was a yell, and I felt something touch my back and my chair was yanked back into the desk behind me. I sat rigid in my seat, wide-eyed, and there was some random kid sitting under my now flipped desk, laughing.

Behind me, someone sighed in relief. "Are you hurt?" they asked, and I turned to find Ritsu sitting behind me. An open workbook was sitting on his desk, and his eyes were filled with concern. Slowly, still in slight shock, I nodded. His mouth split into a wide smile, and he nodded. "That's good. I thought they might've hit you, but I'll trust you." He let go of my chair, leaning back.

My hands were shaking slightly. This was my chance. Ritsu seemed nice enough; maybe I could at least try to say hi. In those moments, my shyness felt crippling, but I finally just closed my eyes and blurted out, "Thank you! They didn't hurt me, but it was nice you tried to help anyway… M… My name is Elena Kishinuma-Allen."

Ritsu was tapping his pencil against his head when my eyes opened. Even two years later, it was still weird to say my name as 'Kishinuma-Allen Elena.' It wasn't weird in itself, but tongue just wasn't quite used to saying it. I guess when you say 'Elena Allen' for eleven years foes that to you.

Again, Ritsu smiled, and he nodded at me. "Nice to meet you, Kishinuma-san." His smile was infectious; I couldn't stop a grin back, and I quickly turned back to my desk. It was a start. I had willingly introduced myself to someone… Kishinuma-san? Usually I just asked people to call me Elena, but Kishinuma-san sounded nice. I felt a little like I finally had a family name back, and I smiled to myself.

The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye, and I began to pack my stuff away when we were finally dismissed. I had just started to put today's homework in my bag when I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Hey, Kishinuma-san!" Ritsu called, and I turned to face him.

He was all ready to go, his bag on his desk, and he held it up, smiling. "Would you like to walk home together? You walk in the same direction I do so…" I nodded before he finished, saying, "Sure!" I quickly put all my books into my bags and stood up. Ritsu and I left the classroom together.

Other students were calling goodbye to Ritsu as we walked along, and he waved goodbye, saying he would call some of them later. I hid my smile; Ritsu seemed nice enough, and I would probably be able to meet more people through him if he and I became friends. A few people asked who I was as we left the school building, and Ritsu introduced me as his new friend Kishinuma-san.

On the inside, I was beaming. People were actually genuinely interested, and I almost smiled on the outside, but I held myself together. Didn't want to appear weird or anything, but Ritsu was a weirdo on his own, so I probably didn't have much to worry about.

We passed by a guy who Ritsu introduced me to as his best friend, and they had a very loving farewell before Ritsu and I finally stepped off school grounds and began walking home.

Ritsu lived about halfway between my house and the school, in a small apartment with his parents. Like me, he had no siblings, and we discovered that his Mum had actually worked my stepfather at one point. Ritsu laughed as we reached a set of traffic lights, noting, "It's a small world."

I too was laughing, and wasn't looking when I bumped into someone. Quickly, I stepped back, covering my mouth as I gasped without thinking, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Standing over me was a rather tall girl with her brown hair tied into a ponytail, and her hands were behind her head, one of her hands holding her bag. She was standing with two girls who wore the same uniform as me. She looked back at me, giving me a smile. "Ahh, don't worry about it! No harm, no foul."

"Kino-san!" Ritsu cheered, raising his hand in greeting. "I thought it was you! And you're with Tsukino-san and Naru-chan… how are you both," he said to the two girls standing with the tall one, and they both turned to us. The one with short brown hair, Naru-chan he had called her, said, "Rit-san! We were just heading to the arcade, Usagi-chan wanted to play a game… You can join us, if you like."

As Ritsu got into a conversation with Naru-chan, I realised the tall one – Kino-san? – was still staring at me. "You must be new here," she observed, and I felt my cheeks beginning to heat up. "What's your name?"

In my sudden but brief state of disorientedness, I nearly responded in English, but caught myself just in time. "Yes, I am new here. My name is Elena Kishinuma-Allen-"

I was interrupted by Tsukino-san, who gasped, "You're that new transfer student! Aren't you from Australia?" Kino-san's eyebrows rose in surprise, and I began to feel like I was in a very closed space. Swallowing nervously, I nodded. "Yes, I'm from Australia, but I've been living in Japan for three years… I just transferred from the Aichi prefecture."

Tsukino-san nodded, her mouth in a tiny circle, and I quickly turned away, tucking my hair behind my ear. Kino-san gave me one last curious glance as Ritsu said, "No thanks, Naru-chan, I'll just be taking Kishinuma-san home. I'll see you tomorrow though!" he called as the little man went green, and we all began to cross the road. On the other side, they went one way while Ritsu and I went the other.

I couldn't stop my eyes from trailing after them as they walked away, Kino-san talking now. They all looked so relaxed, so comfortable around one another, Tsukino-san with both of them in particular… It was strange. I felt a strange feeling go through me, but I ignored it.

Ritsu nattered on beside me as we walked home, but his voice seemed so far away. I nodded slightly at things that he said, but all in all I felt as though we were walking too fast. I tried to keep my breathing level; calm. But every second that I got closer to my house, the more my breathing wanted to stop.

Yoritaka wasn't going to be home for another few hours, so it would just be me and Mum… Right now, I wasn't sure I could do that. She had had a violent coughing fit last night, and my stepfather had forced her into a warm bath to calm her down. As soon as I could leave this morning, I did, and I intended to stay away for as long as possible.

Lord… how could I explain this to Ritsu? I had to distract him, make some suggestion as to why I had to suddenly go somewhere else, or convince him to go somewhere with me. Perhaps we should've taken Naru-cha's offer to go to the arcade…

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Ritsu say "huh?" and he stopped walking. I stopped too, turning to look at him. He was looking at something behind me, over my head, and I began to ask, "Ritsu, what's wro-" I had barely finished when I felt something sharp yet somehow rather large hit me in the back, and Ritsu screamed.

The pain was excruciating, and I fell instantly, falling to my knees before landing face-first on the ground, my arms splayed out on either side of my head. Ritsu gasped, "Kishinuma-san! What… what are you doing, n-" He too was cut off, and I heard him scream again. Weakly, I lifted my head, watching through blurry eyes as he was knocked back.

My back screamed in protest when I tried to move my arm, to lift my hand, and I reached toward Ritsu, whispered, "Ri…tsu…" He was gasping, grunting in pain, pleading with someone. I tried to move at all, but they had hit me in the right spot to temporarily paralyse me, by the feel of it. My vision cleared slightly, and I saw something in front of Ritsu, obscuring my vision of him.

My eyes went wide. What the hell was that? Ugh… my vision wasn't clearing fast enough, but I could swear that whatever was standing in front of Ritsu looked like… like…

A voice, strong and confident, broke through my thoughts.

"Hold it right there!"


End file.
